The Criterion Collection

[AlexHarvey]

"In A Lonely Place" is probably my favorite Bogart movie, and it's also one of his best roles and performance. The Columbia dvd is pretty good quality, but a Blu-ray version would be most welcome.

[Visco.]

I just finished Do The Right Thing and holy shit. I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did, but wow this movie doesn't have a dull moment. I love the way it's filmed. I swear it looks way too good for being released in '89. I've always been a huge fan of Public Enemy so that definitely helped.

I've only seen Inside Man and this from Lee, but I really loved both.

[The Great Owl]

I just watched In a Lonely Place two times in a row. This is a tremendous film noir!

I will use this film as an argument against the popular assertion that Humphrey Bogart was more of a "star" than an actor. His role as Dixon Steele is a masterwork blend of fictional imagining and personal honesty that allowed him to descend into some of the darkest depths of a character's soul. Toughness and frailty come together with explosive brilliance.

Gloria Grahame was so adept at playing ill-fated heroines whose nurturing instincts lead them into abusive situations. Her roles that I've seen so far (It's a Wonderful Life, The Big Heat, Crossfire, In a Lonely Place) are all so uncannily seductive and tragic. I'm looking forward to delving into more of her material with some still-unwatched DVDs in my stack (Human Desire, Sudden Fear). I know that she had her problems in real life, but her onscreen canon is immaculately wondrous.

I love how Nicholas Ray explored character alienation and internal turmoil in movies like Rebel Without a Cause, Bigger Than Life (a Criterion title), and On Dangerous Ground. In a Lonely Place is my favorite film of his that I've seen yet, though.

I understand why critic Eddie Muller ranked In a Lonely Place at number one on his list of 25 best film noirs. It's not the typical detective/crime drama/femme fatale story that most associate with the genre, but this movie is noir through and through, with its exploration of personal weaknesses intertwined with bleak twists of fate. My personal favorite film noir is still Out of the Past, but In a Lonely Place shakes things up high on my list.

Oh man, I hope that Criterion picks up this title.

Originally Posted by hoytereden

Did you watch They Live By Night from the Noir set?

Not yet, but it's right here on the shelf waiting for me. I finished watching the Warner Film Noir Classic Collection: Volume 3 this week, and I will start on Volume 4 this weekend. They Live By Night is one of the films in that set.

[spanky87]

Originally Posted by Visco.

I just finished Do The Right Thing and holy shit. I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did, but wow this movie doesn't have a dull moment. I love the way it's filmed. I swear it looks way too good for being released in '89. I've always been a huge fan of Public Enemy so that definitely helped.

I've only seen Inside Man and this from Lee, but I really loved both.

One of my favorite opening credits sequence.

[RandyK]

Originally Posted by Visco.

I just finished Do The Right Thing and holy shit. I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did, but wow this movie doesn't have a dull moment. I love the way it's filmed. I swear it looks way too good for being released in '89. I've always been a huge fan of Public Enemy so that definitely helped.

I've only seen Inside Man and this from Lee, but I really loved both.

I had to watch it for my film class last semester and really liked it as well.

[gates70]

Originally Posted by jayembee

In descending order:

Tokyo Story
The Best Years of Our Lives
How Green Was My Valley
Rififi
La Haine
8 1/2
Breathless

Thanks for the input!

Originally Posted by Mooch360

Don't listen to the nay-sayers, Breathless is fantastic. I liked How Green Was My Valley and The Best Years of Our Lives as well, although not as much. I have Tokyo Story but I haven't watched it yet.

Here's some other good ones to consider:
The Bridge on the River Kwai
12 Angry Men
Mrs. Miniver (not a classic per se, but I liked it)
Wild Strawberries
La Grande Illusion
Wages of Fear
Anatomy of a Murder
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
Stagecoach

Thanks, I will have to give Breathless a watch. Many people seem to like it. In the list you provided, I already have The Bridge on the River Kwai, 12 Angry Men, and Anatomy of a Murder. By the way, Cary Grant and James Stewart are 2 of my favorite actors.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I just watched In a Lonely Place two times in a row. This is a tremendous film noir!

I will use this film as an argument against the popular assertion that Humphrey Bogart was more of a "star" than an actor. His role as Dixon Steele is a masterwork blend of fictional imagining and personal honesty that allowed him to descend into some of the darkest depths of a character's soul. Toughness and frailty come together with explosive brilliance.

Gloria Grahame was so adept at playing ill-fated heroines whose nurturing instincts lead them into abusive situations. Her roles that I've seen so far (It's a Wonderful Life, The Big Heat, Crossfire, In a Lonely Place) are all so uncannily seductive and tragic. I'm looking forward to delving into more of her material with some still-unwatched DVDs in my stack (Human Desire, Sudden Fear). I know that she had her problems in real life, but her onscreen canon is immaculately wondrous.

I love how Nicholas Ray explored character alienation and internal turmoil in movies like Rebel Without a Cause, Bigger Than Life (a Criterion title), and On Dangerous Ground. In a Lonely Place is my favorite film of his that I've seen yet, though.

I understand why critic Eddie Muller ranked In a Lonely Place at number one on his list of 25 best film noirs. It's not the typical detective/crime drama/femme fatale story that most associate with the genre, but this movie is noir through and through, with its exploration of personal weaknesses intertwined with bleak twists of fate. My personal favorite film noir is still Out of the Past, but In a Lonely Place shakes things up high on my list.

Oh man, I hope that Criterion picks up this title.



Not yet, but it's right here on the shelf waiting for me. I finished watching the Warner Film Noir Classic Collection: Volume 3 this week, and I will start on Volume 4 this weekend. They Live By Night is one of the films in that set.

I think it's paired with Side Street which also stars Granger and O'Donnell. I like that In A Lonely Place gives Gloria Grahame a role that she doesn't have to play the "ditzy blonde."

[jw007]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

hey j dubs.. you got my attention!
"You said you are completely against watching the supplements esp. before seeing the film" whoa.. wait.. no. that's not what I said. I said that I don't like watching certain supplements until I feel that I have exhausted whatever the film can offer me or until I've seen all other essential works by the director of the film. ..and here is a confession: I have NEVER watched a film with an audio commentary running. not that I am against it by any means, but there's too many darn good movies and not enough time to watch them all. maybe the next time I watch Vertigo (my all time fav) I will let the commentary run, but usually my viewings of films I really enjoy are rather far apart. Not by choice.. just because I don't have the time for it, really. It took me more than 10 years to revisit films like The Deer Hunter and Breathless and by that time, I needed to watch the whole darn thing again.

as for me applying my own rules for you watching A Woman Under The Influence... I don't know how deep that film is... if it needs multiple viewings or if it is just a great film that only needs to be seen once. but, yes, a director's commentary, for me, would be preferential to hearing Jo Schmo's commentary.

I think that I alluded to it before all of this, but I am not a huge supplement guy in general. I'd prefer Criterion NOT release the films I love, actually, and for them to come out in cheaper versions. I know I'm probably alone in that opinion, but it's all good.

BWD:

Oh... you are a commentary virgin. My goodness sir! It is time you activate that commentary track so you can see what all the hype is about! At least try it once to see what its like. But of course I dislike having to re-watch the film with audio commentary on, because I end up wanting to watch the film rather than listen to the commentary itself. But yes, there are so many films to see, so I can see why you are passing over that supplemental feature found on so many Criterion releases. I'm a completist though. Need to get my money's worth from these purchases, so I exhaustively go through everything on each release with a fine toothed comb. I believe it took me almost a week just to get through over 9 hours of extra features on The Third Man. It was worth it though.

But anyway, we can agree to disagree. You're here for the real substance, the film, like myself, but I'm here for it all, supplements included! Especially if its a film I really love. I want to know everything there is to the movie as much as possible and all those supplements is what makes Criterion stand apart from the rest of the pack! Three cheers to that!

[AlexHarvey]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I just watched In a Lonely Place two times in a row. This is a tremendous film noir!

Glad you liked this film, it has been a favorite of mine for a long time. It has a bleak ending with no winners which is perfect for noir.

" I was born when she kissed me
I died when she left me
I lived a few weeks while she loved me "

[manunited1]

Finally got around to watching Badlands and loved it... It's a brilliant little film with a relationship that just feels so classic and real. The supplements were excellent as well although I have not dived into the commentary yet.

As for the directing and cinematography... It's Malick; it's beautiful and natural. I really loved everything about it.

I also finally watched Heaven's Gate and was thoroughly pleased. I don't see where that hate came from to be honest. It felt very much in the spirit of Once upon a time in the West, but more arthouse and with more social and political undertones. I dug it for sure... I mean the cinematograph and the mountain views alone make it a great pleasure to watch. The attention to detail is astounding as well. It's basically the Avatar of period piece films lol. I also enjoyed all the extras here too.

[Judex]

This arrived afew moments ago. My viewing for tonight is sorted.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by jw007

Oh... you are a commentary virgin. My goodness sir! It is time you activate that commentary track so you can see what all the hype is about! At least try it once to see what its like. But of course I dislike having to re-watch the film with audio commentary on, because I end up wanting to watch the film rather than listen to the commentary itself. But yes, there are so many films to see, so I can see why you are passing over that supplemental feature found on so many Criterion releases. I'm a completist though. Need to get my money's worth from these purchases, so I exhaustively go through everything on each release with a fine toothed comb. I believe it took me almost a week just to get through over 9 hours of extra features on The Third Man. It was worth it though.

With new purchases, Criterion or otherwise, I've fallen into the habit of watching the main film with undivided attention and then playing the film a second time through with the commentary track as background noise while I post on my laptop or clean up the apartment. If a commentary track is more lively than usual, then I'll stop whatever else I'm doing and listen to it with undivided attention as well.

I usually watch all or most of the supplementary features with each Blu-ray/DVD purchase, but I often post on the laptop while I'm doing so as well, especially if I'm watching one of the commonplace "back-slapping" making-of documentaries on most newer non-Criterion movies.

When it comes to Criterion movies, I love watching foreign films with subtitles, but, for some reason, I always have trouble paying attention if I'm watching a subtitled special feature (A French director or French actors discussing their movie on a French talk show, for example). Even with my most beloved Melville films and such, I have a difficult time staying interested in the talk show guest appearance supplements and such. Ever so often, I find myself riveted by one of these, but my mind wanders during most of them.

[cash_black]

Criterion blu ray wish list

Sword of Doom
The Exterminating Angel
Le Samourai
Bob Le flambeur

[Member-167298]

Originally Posted by gates70

Thanks, I will have to give Breathless a watch. Many people seem to like it.

Breathless in many ways gave birth to a lot of the modern cinema techniques we take for granted now. The dialogue alone paved the way for filmmakers like Tarantino.

[TheDot]

Originally Posted by Judex

This arrived afew moments ago. My viewing for tonight is sorted.

[Show spoiler]

Hope mine arrives today

[Polaroid]

Great Beauty & Persona:













Both feel really sturdy and nice packaging, the booklet for Persona is quite thick, so the case is bulky, but feels nice. (gotta hate that height difference though lol :P)

[Member-167298]

Going to see The Great Beauty today! I hear it looks amazing in a theatrical setting.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by PrestonXI

Going to see The Great Beauty today! I hear it looks amazing in a theatrical setting.

Just started to watch, first viewing, been about 15 minutes and so far its incredible, so far i'd say its better than Blue, I think this should have gotten Palm D'or.

I can't believe I've not seen this sooner!

Actually feels A LOT like Tree of Life, like the camera work, the editing and sound (TTOL is on of my favourite films).

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Actually feels A LOT like Tree of Life, like the camera work, the editing and sound (TTOL is on of my favourite films).

I think you may have just saved me from buying this blu ray...

[CraigThom]

Originally Posted by jw007

BWD:

Oh... you are a commentary virgin. My goodness sir! It is time you activate that commentary track so you can see what all the hype is about!

It may take more than one to get a really good commentary. At their best commentaries can provide terrific insight into the making of the films; some have actually helped me enjoy the movies more on subsequent viewings. At their worst commentaries are people who have done no preparation and haven't seen the films in years. They are watching the movie cold, trying to remember stuff, and telling each other what great jobs they did.

The good news it's that it doesn't take long to figure out which ones are a waste of time.